To help answer this question, astronomers studied in some detail the Quadrantid meteor shower that occurred over this past weekend.
In particular, astronomers with specialized cameras flew as part of the Quadrantid's Multi-Instrument Aircraft Campaign (MAC) aboard a NASA DC-8 aircraft above northern Canada over the past few days and studied the Quadrantid meteor shower in unprecedented detail.
Pictured above is a composite image combining many short exposures.
Visible in the image are the tail of the airplane reflecting a red beacon on the left, green aurora most prominent on the image right, and numerous meteor streaks throughout.
Preliminary indications are that the meteor stream is quite stable in time but variable in meteor abundance.
Over 100 meteors per hour were visible at the peak from the MAC aircraft.
